[Kreep]

Project: Basically Stock CJ-7

When people ask about my Jeep I tell them “It’s a basically stock 1982 CJ-7.” This usually raises eyebrows and so I continue “It’s got a stock Ford grain truck rear axle, a stock Jeep Wagoneer front axle, a stock Ford F-250 transmission and stock GM fuel injection on an AMC V-8.”

When I bought it in 2002 it was listed as “trail ready” and had a tired 258 with a rebuilt transmission. It was SOA on 33” mud terrains and a Warn full floater kit with a spool in the Model 20 rear axle. The full floater kit was kind of cool because the locking hubs let you flat tow even with the spool. Here’s a picture of my wife driving it on our first trail ride, and yes she’s giving us a good ‘ol Pirate salute! :flipoff2::flipoff2:

 

[Kreep]

Current specs are a TBI injected 304, T-18a 4 speed tranny, Dana 300 t-case, Dana 44 front with Superior inners, Warn outers and CTM joints. The rear axle is a Dana 70 and both are loaded with Detroit lockers and 4.88 gears. It’s got 40” Iroks on recentered H1 wheels cleared by about 4” of total lift courtesy of 3” Holbrook springs, a 1” body lift and ¾” shackle lift. The wheelbase is 99” and the flat skid is 17.5” at 5 psi (21” at 20 psi).

I’ve wheeled it like this for about 5 years and it does really well on Midwest trails. I love the off road stability, on road manners and being able to pull into any garage but I’ve also come to know its shortcomings. The Dana 44 is not up to 40” tires, although I’ve only lost one Detroit Electrac and one CTM (which took an inner shaft with it). It hops on steep climbs in rock or sand (dirt is not a problem). The low belly hangs when climbing ledges. The outboarded springs hurt turning radius and I am tired of greasing the CTM’s before every run. I’d like to increase wheelbase to 103-106" to improve stability. I’d like to fit 42" tires and have more than an inch of uptravel before hitting the bump stops.

My current plans include installing a Dana 60 SUA in front. I’ll move it forward 7” and use an Astro steering box. While I’m at it I’ll return the front leafs to stock spacing to reduce turning radius. I also plan to mount the bumpstops as close as possible to tire to increase uptravel. I’ll move the skid plate up to the frame to pick up a couple inches of belly clearance and link the rear to (hopefully) cure the axle hop.

Edit 07-01-2016:
I've been asked for more details on this "before" shot. Those are 7" Warn TJ flares and I can't say enough good things about them. They have been folded back flat to the body on multiple occasions and are holding up great. They measure a true 7" wide. The Dana 44 was 67" WMS-WMS and 16" WMS to outside of springs. I was running 2 1/2" wide Holbrook springf for the rear of a CJ-7 in both front and rear to help offset the weight of the winch and such. These have a 10" offset pin so the outside is stock 22" and the inside is 32". The Dana 70 rear is 65" WMS-WMS. The wheels are recentered H1 beadlocks that have 1/8" negative offset, meaning there is 1/4" more tire on the outside of the WMS than on the inside. The Iroks measured 39" tall and 14" wide going by memory.

The Dana 60 going in has been shortened on the long side 4" so it is 65 1/4" WMS-WMS and 17 5/8" WMS to outside of spring. The 43" SX's going on measure 41.75" tall and 15.5" wide at 15 psi off the rig.

 

[Kreep]

First up is the front axle. The long side of the Dana 60 had already been narrowed 4” which brings the spring mounts in to CJ width. Here is the U-bolt plate.

 

[Kreep]

You can see the start of the spring perch in the picture above. I'm not a fan of welding to cast, so the perch is cantilevered from the tube. I had to cut the gusset out of the center section. The yellow paint was used to find the high spots when I was test fitting the perch.

 

[Kreep]

Next step was to jig it up and mill the old perch parallel to the new one. I was a little worried about tipping the mill over, so the end off camera is being supported by the jib crane. To prevent creating a stress riser the corner has a small fillet.

 

[Kreep]

In this pic you can see some stuff that worked and some stuff I want to change. The skid plate was 1/8" thick and while it did its job it also took a pretty good beating. The tranny is held up by a frame made of 2.5” tube (some 1/8” wall and some 3/16 wall). I really want to raise the belly a couple of inches so the frame is going to have to go. The Holbrook springs are 10” longer than stock inboard towards the tranny. I really can’t say enough nice things about these springs. They have held up great, flex good and have a very smooth ride. In this pic you can see the springs and skid made a really nice transition, from the frame it’s about 2 1/8” to the bottom of the skid and 3 ½” to the bottom of the springs. Here you can see how I would slide over rocks from springs to skid and back onto the springs.

 

[Kreep]

So I decided to raise the spring mounts up into the frame, here’s the mount and my buddy Ron punching a hole through the frame.

 

[bjordan]

Looks great man. I enjoy seeing cj's getting built. Good luck

 

[Kreep]

Thanks! I've got a soft spot for old iron myself.

Well, I moved the spring mount forward 7 inches, so the frame needed stretching. But as long as the bumper was off I decided to replace it. The previous owner had built it out of 2x4 tube and poop pipe. It was functional taking some hard hits and a roll in which it completely protected the hood. But I just never cared for it much.

 

[Kreep]

For the front bumper I wanted to sink the winch to help my over heating problem. I also wanted a place to mount the license plate and decent tow points. Most times a quick tug from a strap is enough to get someone unstuck. In this case its a pain to deal with shackles. But when it comes to serious recovery like when someone is greasy side up shackles are the only way to go. I really like the hooks on the front of the new JK's for quick pulls but wanted an option for attaching shackles if need be, soooo, out came a block of steel 1 1/2" thick...

 

[Kreep]

Virgil the vertical bandsaw makes quick work of roughing out the new tow hooks!

 

[Kreep]

Then on to the mill to clean it up…

 

[Kreep]

The body of the bumper started as a piece of 3x7” tube with a ¼” wall. The tow hooks go all the way through and are welded top and bottom. I was a little worried about getting enough heat in the hooks for penetration so I preheated them and set phasers on “kill.” It was the first time I’ve ever done spray welding which was cool.
And yes, I know your half blind grandmother can weld better than I can. Trust me, if you are looking for pretty welds this is not the thread for you. :shaking:

 

[Kreep]

Grafted the new bumper on with more ¼” wall tube. You can also see the mount for the Astro power steering box in these pics. I could have used my old box but this solution let me use a shorter frame extension (axle forward 7", frame extended 4") and cleared the winch. Damn I hope it works, stuff is really tight in the front of a CJ...

 

[ddestruel]

subscribed...........

Keep up the SUA ive always loved your setup Kreep

 

[Kreep]

subscribed...........

Keep up the SUA ive always loved your setup Kreep

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment coming from someone with your skills. Shame about the pics on your threads.

I've obviously stolen some ideas from your threads and this is my way of "paying it forward." One thing I really liked was your write up on cooling fans. I've been watching ebay for a 472 fan and the nice looking ones are strictly mechanical while the ones for a clutch are chunky looking and don't seem likely to pull near as much air. Some pics of what worked for you would be appreciated!

 

[ddestruel]

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment coming from someone with your skills. Shame about the pics on your threads.

I've obviously stolen some ideas from your threads and this is my way of "paying it forward." One thing I really liked was your write up on cooling fans. I've been watching ebay for a 472 fan and the nice looking ones are strictly mechanical while the ones for a clutch are chunky looking and don't seem likely to pull near as much air. Some pics of what worked for you would be appreciated!

As well i stole things from our PM's back and forth regarding your springs etc a few years back


472/500 caddy 7 blade fan


5.3L caddy eldorado early 80s 7 blade v belt fan this one is 3" there also is a 3-1/8" IIRC from same application


height of 5.3L v belt driven caddy fan


Height of 472 Caddy fan


Part number for 74 caddy fan


all said and done both of those fit a stock CJ fan shroud. combined with the hayden 2797 clutch and the adjusted spring i have zero heat issues


Copied from my thread since im lazy
Fans from a Cadillac el dorado running a 472 or a 500 are 18" in diameter and 3-1/4" high pitch 7 blade. blades are 5" across by nearly 5" long found this to work for all mechanical cooling using a 82-86 buick diesel severe duty fan clutch fits the stock shroud. Hayden Part number 2797

heres a link to the hummer fan 19.5" and 10 blade
that i used it pulled the fan blades a little further back from my radiator which helped with cooling since i was sucking too close to the core and not drawing air from across the entire core with my YJ frame swap i oriented the motor 3/4" further forward over the old cj setup. the fan is 19.5" in diameter the blades are 6-1/8" long 3.5" wide and have a 2-1/8" high pitch

now im no fan specialist but best i can tell the 472 Cadillac fan blades account for 25 cubic inches each x7 would yeild 175 cubic inches of surface area. the military diesel 92-94 hummer fan accounts for 21.4" of surface area per blade at 10 blades would yield 214 cubic inches of surface area. best i can tell the hummer fan which will bolt up to the 2797 fan clutch pulls more air and being a little shallower is easier to battle and work with. hole in my fan shroud is 21" and that may be too tight

Also on fan clutches they like to engage between 210-220 here is an article to address high engagement settings on factory thermostatic fan clutches and adjust them to get them to engage at lower settings you'll be amazed at the difference

 

[Kreep]

Thanks! That's just what I needed!

And the hunt begins

 

[geberhard]

Very cool CJ7, keep it coming!

 

[Mieser]

That SUA perch on the dana 60 is slick, nice job.